The French Dispatches - Part Douze

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In the penultimate post about our February trip to France, we spent the day wandering the Louvre and the streets of Paris, enjoyed high tea at Le Dali, and ate an amazing meal at Laserre!


Back in the sprawl of the Valley of the Sun

The alarm went off early on Thursday morning (of course, I was already awake, having spent another not very restful night at the Hotel Saint Louis Marais - that bed was way too hard for my old hips), and we got to work showering, packing up the remainder of our luggage, and straightening up the room before we headed out.  Around 6:15am, we took the elevator downstairs to the lobby to check out and settle our bill, as well as await our car to Charles de Gaulle airport.  When we reserved a room at the hotel, they offered to also book us a shuttle for the early morning trip to CDG, and we happily accepted.  The charge for it was more than taking the RER line back, but it was far easier, and we were fine paying the difference to avoid navigating the metro before having caffeine and while toting heavy suitcases after a week spent walking all over the place.

We made it to CDG without issue - our driver pulled the pro move of dropping us inside the parking garage instead of waiting in the giant line heading to departures, and it saved us at least 15 minutes, which was greatly appreciated.  Once inside, we checked our bags, scooted through security, and found some coffee/tea and breakfast while we waited for the flight to board.


Early morning airport selfie


CDG had a few of these cool living art panels throughout the terminal

Eventually, the plane pulled in, discharged its existing group of passengers, got all cleaned up for us, and we started to board.  We settled in and rolled away from the gate right on time, although we did have to go over to the de-icing section of the runway, which was a new experience for me!



The de-icing crane hard at work

Before too long, we were airborne and started an almost eleven hour flight into Salt Lake City.  We read, watched movies, napped just a bit, and ate all sorts of interesting things (more Woodford Reserve and ginger ales!).  Although we fly too high for most of the trip to see more than just clouds out my window, I had some great mountain views as we came across the Rockies and into Utah.



Our layover in Salt Lake City was a few hours long, so we had plenty of time to go through customs, recheck our bags, go through security again, find snacks, and so on.  Pro tip - if you're planning to travel internationally anytime soon (and come back to the USA, of course), check out the Mobile Passport Control app - it saved us at least 15-30 minutes coming back through customs on our way home.

Before too long, we were on our last plane of the day, making the short jump into Phoenix.


More incredible mountains, and look at all that snow!


That's a big hole in the ground!
(Yes, it's the Grand Canyon)

Landing around 5:30pm, we made our way to baggage claim (being greeted by a very enthusiastic group of folks volunteering for the Super Bowl/Waste Management Open weekend) and grabbed our bags, then hopped on the shuttle to take us back to the Parking Spot and our car.  We made one more stop to grab the monkey from Jet Pet, and we were all home by 6:15!

Throughout our years of travel, we've found that at the end of a big trip like this, where you do and see so many things over so many days, it's easy to gloss over or even forget your favorite experiences.  Thus, while we're sitting in the airport getting ready to board the flight home, we try to make a list; it gives us a good point for reflection - and to remember what we loved in case we ever have a chance to come back again!

Voila!

Paris Favorites:

Meal:  Amy - Robert et Louise; Chris - Laserre

Sight:  Amy and Chris - the Musee Rodin

Experience:  Amy - being back, remembering our 2018 trip; Chris - wandering the Marais after taking the train back from Bordeaux


Bordeaux Favorites:

Meal: Amy and Chris - Symbiose

Sight: Amy - Capucins Market; Chris - La Cite du Vin

Experience:  Amy - everything about Chateau Pape Clement (staying there, eating there, the gardens, etc); Chris - our wine tasting day with Val


So that's it!  That's a wrap on the France blogs for the 2023 trip!  As always, thank you for reading all of these (or just scrolling through and looking at pictures - no judgement, your time is valuable) and we'll see you on the blog soon!

Au revoir!

Amy

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